AUSXIP Erin Cummings
News & Multimedia

"Detroit 1-8-7" actress Erin Cummings is not ashamed to admit that she's having a love affair with Detroit. She's constantly spotted at local restaurants or in the stands cheering on all of our professional sports teams, but to date, her most impressive participation in Motor City affairs is her mission to collect and distribute new gloves and mittens for all Metro Detroiters who are in need, especially children.

Erin Cummings is a bit of a warm-weather girl. The actress, who plays Dr. Hailey Cork on "Detroit 1-8-7" lived in Los Angeles for the past 10 years and Texas for more than 10 years before that. To say she is not used to this brutal Michigan weather is an understatement.

"Every time I walk outside, I think about how cold it is. I'm glad I have a pair of gloves on – and I'm only walking from my apartment to my car," Cummings said.

The bitter, biting cold typical for her adopted state is one reason she launched "Mittens for Detroit" last month. The campaign's purpose is to collect and distribute new gloves and mittens to Detroit-based children and adults. Groups including Covenant House Michigan are helping Cummings in her mission, and there are drop boxes across Metro Detroit to collect people's donations. Dozens of businesses of all kinds are participating; the Web site has a box locator that shows just how easy it is to find a place to give.

"The response has been more than overwhelming. It has been what I hoped for," said Cummings as she drove into work on the ABC television show this week. "This has proved to me exactly what I already felt about the people of Detroit: There is such a strong sense of pride, camaraderie and hope for a better future for this city."

The cast of Detroit 187 is used to warm California weather.So on Halloween this year, when it was pretty cold here in Detroit, actress Erin L. Cummings was touched to see a stranger give a child a pair of gloves so the trick or treating could continue.

"It was the simplest act of kindness that didn't take a lot of time or money, just to take notice of another person. This community is a very safe and welcoming place so I wanted to give something back," said. Cummings, who plays Dr. Abbey Ward, the medical examiner on the police procedural drama, about that small act of kindness.

It was that gift that spurred Cummings Idea for Mittens For Detroit, along with the tag line, "warming hearts two hands at a time."

Smitten for the Mitten! Detroit 187's Erin Cummings and Denise Ilitch Designs host event encouraging winter warmth, charitable giving and last minute holiday shopping this Friday, Dec. 17th, 10:30am - 5pm at Denise's 2253 Cole Street showroom. Cummings will speak on the "Mittens for Detroit" initiative from noon - 1pm. Bring new gloves & mittens to be donated to children and adults in the city of Detroit this winter.

HAZEL PARK - It was a frigid, can't-feel-your-hands night Nov. 23, but there was warmth at Hazel Park Harness Raceway, which was ablaze with light-up displays - hundreds of them, in fact - as part of the Detroit Shriners' Festival of Lights, now open through Jan. 2.

Inside the first bus to take the tour was TV star Erin Cummings, who plays Dr. Abbey Ward on the hit ABC series "Detroit 1-8-7." But she hardly noticed the spectacle outside.

Instead, Cummings leaned forward from the console - the bus was packed, and she insisted on letting everyone else have a seat - and spoke with breathless, mile-a-minute enthusiasm about her charity, Mittens for Detroit.

Cummings, who lived in Los Angeles the last 10 years and never visited Detroit prior to filming "1-8-7," only recently learned she has family in the area and spent Halloween passing out candy to trick-or-treaters at her cousin’s house.

It was then that inspiration struck.

"Two young girls came to the door, and one of the girls was missing one of her gloves, and she was freezing and crying," Cummings recalled. "It was about 36 degrees out that night, similar to what it is tonight, and she was very cold."

"Without even thinking about it, my cousin, Kathy Moss, invited the family inside and went to her car and got her spare pair of gloves," she said. "She gave her gloves to the girl, wiped her tears away and gave her some candy, and sent the family out to enjoy the rest of their Halloween night."

"I was just so overwhelmed with emotion by the simplest, most basic act of kindness to a stranger," Cummings said. "I kept thinking about it over and over again all night long. I couldn't stop thinking about it."

What she realized is that in a rough economy, people may not have the wherewithal to adopt a family for Christmas, but most can still afford to donate cheap but essential items, such as a pair of mittens or gloves. And "people should not be denied the opportunity ... to practice the act of generosity and compassion," Cummings said.

This is Erin's first appearance on the list and she is at #40 this year.

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